A Revolution of Ideas

We are excited to be starting our podcast. Beer and Napkins founders Paul Hebert and Phil McCreight share musings on current events, ideas, design, and community…with a vibe of informality. Check us out!

I was going to write about the reboot of Beer and Napkins but I feel it is more important to address the zeitgeist that has zombified all of us into snap judgments and digitally driven antagonism.

From emerging technology changes to hyper-connected politically driven blah-blahs, we are living in harsher times. Hack journalists are spreading fake news and pushy marketers are overly sensationalizing their products for the sake of social metrics. This ubiquitous platform push of information is causing us to be over stimulated, intensely connected to events and situations. Paradoxically, we are unconnected emotionally to each other more than ever. We lash out in anger, quickly without checking our emotions, but then it is too late. How do we address this Molotov cocktail that’s fueling an acrimonious wedge in our society?

Slow down and practice dialogue.

Connect with others face to face in a spirit that balances advocacy and inquiry. It is great to hold a position, but not at the expense of understanding someone else’s ideas. How do we balance advocating our thoughts? You balance by asking questions, slowing down and practicing dialogue. When you inquire you gain respect. When you balance your views with questions to seek understanding, you open up possibilities. If both sides practice dialogue it is one of the most creative collaborative practices to extinguish the flames of hostility. Yes, it may not work for everyone, but if we all make it a priority to practice, we can make serious inroads to bridging our respective communities. So sit down have a beer and listen!

Yes, Beer and Napkins is back online and we will have some exciting engagements. However, at the heart of all the engagements will be the spirit of dialogue. Cheers

Is South Carolina prepared for Biotech?

With the advent of exponential technologies, the Life Science and Biotech industry continues to drive forward with ever increasing speed. Is South Carolina’s workforce ready?

We will continue our MESH-SC conversation about biotech with Julian Nixon, Professor of Anatomy & Physiology and Department Head of Biological Sciences at Greenville Technical College Julian will share an educational perspective of how students are being prepared for biotech careers. We will also tour Greenville Technical Colleges state of the art biotech lab.

Christian Graves, President of the Carolina Biotech Group will share an industry update and key developments in life science and biotech in South Carolina. He will also provide an industry perspective of what we need to do to prepare the SC workforce for careers of biotech.

MESH-SC stands for Manufacturing Engineering Sustainability and Health in South Carolina. It represents an ecosystem of collaboration through the MESHing of growth industries and disciplines for economic progress in South Carolina. MESH-SC advocates the continual building of a strong fabric of knowledge sharing between advanced manufacturing, engineering, clean tech, and health-based industries through education, research, and projects.

About our Presenters

Julian is an educator, motivational speaker, author and entrepreneur. He is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, but for over 9 years he has called Greenville his home. Julian is a Professor of Anatomy & Physiology and Department Head of Biological Sciences at Greenville Technical College. He is the Faculty Advisor for the African American Male Leadership Institute, an organization started by students, faculty, staff, administrators and community leaders to increase the retention and persistence of African American males on the collegiate level. The organization has seen its members achieve college graduation, transfers to four year institutions, distinguished military service and exceptional student leadership.

After rebounding from academic probation to graduate with two degrees from Clemson University, Julian found his passion in higher education. He created two YouTube channels (daprofessa77 and daprofessa nixon) that offer online tutoring in Anatomy & Physiology. He has also launched a website and authored a book on student success that targets the uncommon issues of student life hindering students from obtaining the full educational experience. Julian speaks each year on leadership, education, overcoming obstacles and the need for leading change.

Julian has been blessed with several honors such as GTC Professor of the Year; SC Technical Educators Association Educator of the Year; NISOD Excellence in Education National Award; SC Governor Distinguished Professor of the Year; 107.3 JAMZ Black History Makers; Talented Tenth Top 10 Young Professionals Award; 96.3 Black History Makers; SC Black Pages Who’s Who of Colleges and Universities; and Business Black Box Magazine’s Trailblazer.

Julian often quotes a sample from the dissertation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which states that “I cannot be who I am supposed to be until you are who you are supposed to be; and you cannot be who you are supposed to be until I am who I supposed to be…this is the law of interrelatedness.” Julian enjoys writing, traveling, eating new foods, playing video games, collecting comics and working on his new start-up company. Julian is married to his college sweetheart Shante’.

Christian is co-founder and chairman of the Carolina Biotech Group. Currently pursuing a path as a physician-scientist at USC School of Medicine, Graves is passionate about translating discoveries at the bench into meaningful therapies that benefit others. He is a South Carolinian through-and-through (just lacks the accent) and is proud to have returned to his roots after fellowship at the National Institutes of Health where he successfully pursued translational medicine with a focus in all things neuro. He thrives when working with diverse teams of innovators to improve health, rebels against traditional barriers to progress, and would like to see himself as a pioneer. He enjoys spending time in the mountains with his family rock climbing, biking, and whitewater kayaking, renovating his mid-century house, and rooting for his local hockey team.

Y Manufacturing?

We are in the midst of a manufacturing renaissance, especially in the Southeast. The Upstate has a seasoned workforce, however with the increase of new technologies and approaches to manufacturing including additive and robotics, the requisite skills needed in science and engineering have also increased. How do improve this knowledge gap? How do we get more interested in manufacturing especially the Y and Z generations? How do we tap into the large number of engineers in SC to help?

At our MESHSC event on Tuesday, April 19 our speakers, who are passionately advocating learning and advancement of manufacturing in South Carolina, will be addressing these questions and more. Both speakers will share insights into their organizational initiatives involving human capital development needs.

Jay Blankenship will share an overview of his role as Workforce Advisor for Greenville and the State Future Makers Initiative and implications to the future of advance manufacturing impact on South Carolina.

Dick Tiano, will be providing a presentation about “What is SME” and our ties to Advance Manufacturing. He will cover areas such as the Advanced Manufacturing media that is available, events we sponsor and support, membership and its benefits, the technical communities available, certification opportunities and he will wrap up with information and accomplishments for SME Chapter 430. Dick is currently the Chair of that Chapter.

We will wrap up our event with a crowd-sourced ideation engagement targeting involvement of manufacturing engineers and support from the Upstate SC.